Sickness, Comfort and Confessions
by StarsandUmbrellas
Summary: During a mission with Bookman, Lavi suddenly comes down with the deadly illness TB. But as the illness gets worse, Lenalee and Allen fear for Lavi's life, will the Finders come before it's too late? LavixLenalee!comfort
1. Secrets and Worries

"_Lavi… Lavi wake up." _

Lavi lifted his head from the (surprisingly comfy) table and looked at the green haired exorcist, Lenalee. The trio had been travelling for 3 days before retiring to an inn; Lavi however had been travelling with Bookman for the past 3 months in Germany. They were visiting a man called Robert Koch, rumoured to have figured out the mysterious illness that had swept through Germany.

"Do you want anything to eat?" Lenalee asked him.

He shook his head, "No… I'm not hungry." He rested his head back on the table but suddenly noticed the concern in Lenalee's amethyst eyes, "Lavi, you haven't eaten anything since we set off, are you okay?"

Lavi gave her a reassuring smile and nodded. "Im fine, don't worry." She didn't look too convinced; luckily Allen stepped in after eating twice his body weight in food.

"Lavi's been travelling with Bookman before we met up, he's just tired." That managed to convince her and he was thankful for it, but as of late, he hadn't been feeling himself, true, he hadn't eaten in days, but soon after leaving Germany, he hadn't been eating as much as he should and was losing weight because of it, but the thought of food him feel sick. A few hours later and they retreated to their beds; Lenalee had her own room whilst Allen and Lavi shared a room with 2 single beds. Allen was out like a light as soon as he hit the pillow; Lavi however was wide awake, staring at the ceiling.

"_This doesn't make any sense, one minute I can't keep my eye's open and the next I'm restless…" _Lavi sighed and turned to face the window, it was a cloudy night but the crescent moon was still shining on them. Lavi suddenly started to cough uncontrollably, not wanting to wake Allen or Lenalee; he buried his face in his pillow to muffle it. He finally stopped after 5 minutes, lifting his head off his pillow and was shocked to what he coughed up… blood.

"_Damnit, this is the 3__rd__ time now… what's wrong with me?..." _ Turning his pillow over, he finally drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, the three exorcists left the inn and continued heading to a small city where a number of 'strange incidents' have been happening, most likely the work of an akuma. Luckily for Lavi, no-one heard his coughing fit last night or noticed the blood stain on his pillow, worrying his friends was the last thing on his mind.

The track to the town was much longer than they anticipated; the scenery looked the same in every direction you looked. Lavi kept his hands behind his head and stared up at the sky, but every time he redirected his attention to the road ahead he stumbled from the dizziness. Allen wasn't keeping his eye on the road either; he was still reading the file about their mission.

"Turns out people are just dropping dead without an explanation..." Allen cringed at the thought of that, the thought of that made him think of Mana, he never fully understood how he died. Lenalee gave him a comforting hug seeing him cringe like that. He was more the less the youngest out of the three after all and he was still quite new to what Akuma do to the people around them with no free will. Lavi also noticed Allen cringe and playfully messed his hair up.

"Eh, don't worry Moyashi."

"My name's Allen!!!" Lavi laughed and sprinted away, Allen close behind. Lavi looked over his shoulder to see how far Allen was behind him, but when he turned his head back, everything seemed to blur and spin causing him trip and fall onto the ground. Allen couldn't help but laugh at first but immediately stopped when Lavi didn't get up.

"Lavi?.. Lavi you okay?" He shook his shoulder lightly but he still didn't wake. But as soon as he passed out, he woke up again, not quite sure what happened.

"Are you okay Lavi?" Lenalee asked him, concern swimming in her eyes. Lavi looked around a few times before sitting up.

"I... think so..." He stood up with Allen and Lenalee's help and they continued heading towards the town, Allen thought Lavi had hit his head when he fell, it seemed logical but even Lavi knew it wasn't true, he couldn't help but think to himself,

"_I passed out again... it's getting worse..."_

**..:~~:..**

When they reached the city, it was deathly quiet, no sign of life anywhere.

"They must've been evacuated." Allen finally spoke up. "Lenalee, you go with Lavi and see if anyone got left behind, I'll look for the akuma." They all agreed and split up into different parts of the city, both Lenalee and Lavi had no luck in finding anyone or anything.

"Wonder if Allen's having more luck than we are?" Lavi questioned, Lenalee smiled and looked up at him but that sweet smile of hers soon faded, "Lavi, your face looks flushed." She reached up and placed her hand on his forehead, he was burning up.

"You've got a fever." Lavi froze; his mind raced trying to think of an excuse but he couldn't think of anything she'd believe.

"I uh…" He was interrupted by Allen crashing into the ground. "Allen!" Lenalee cried out as he slowly got back up.

"Akuma… 3 level 2's." Lavi took out his hammer, Lenalee activated her Dark Boots and all three of them rushed into battle with the akuma's. These akuma were strong, 2 of them were destroyed and their souls saved, but the 3rd was stronger than the other 2 and the trio were having a lot of trouble with its camouflage ability. If it had just been Lavi and Lenalee, they wouldn't stand a chance, Allen's eye could see through the camouflage with ease.

"Lavi! 3 'o' clock!" Allen cried out to him, Lavi swung but missed by an inch, they were all tired and it was affecting them badly. The akuma suddenly disappeared from sight, it was hiding.

"Allen! Can you see it anywhere?!" Lavi kept his guard on high alert in case it were to jump out at them, Allen was scanning the area, he couldn't see it anywhere, not even with his eye and it scared him, it could easily hurt both Lenalee and Lavi.

Everything went silent, just the wind could be heard. Lenalee kept an eye out from above in case it was to attack from the sky or if it'd show itself she could warn Allen and Lavi. Within a flash of movement, Allen was suddenly launched into a building, dust and debris flew around them making it hard to see the akuma. The building was about collapse, Allen was knocked out cold and if he didn't wake up he'd be killed. Lenalee didn't take any chances and grabbed Allen away from the collapsing building. She layed him down and found his head was bleeding slightly but was still alive.

"Lenalee…" His voice was dazed, but clear none the less. He tried to get up but Lenalee gently pushed him back down. "Allen, you hit your head, just rest for a bit." She looked over at Lavi who'd just managed to land a hit on the akuma.

"Lenalee! Is Allen okay?" Lavi shouted.

"He's fine! Can you hold the akuma off for a while?" She couldn't leave Allen but she felt awful for making Lavi fight by his self. Allen's eye's suddenly widened; the akuma was right behind Lavi with its claws raised above his head.

"Behind you Lavi!!!" Allen cried out as loud as he could, Lavi spun round and ducked before those razor sharp claws could touch him, this was his chance. His raised his hammer as the fire symbol appeared and he slammed it into the ground.

"Gouka Kaijin! Hiban!" A huge fire serpant rose from the ground and devoured the akuma, destroying it in one go. Allen smiled as he saw the soul go back to it's original form and soon fade away. Lenalee was relieved that neither of them got hurt badly, just a few scratches but nothing fatal. Lavi suddenly began to cough again, it was more violent this time and forced him to drop to his knees, blood dropped to the floor and his head began to spin.

"Lavi!" Lenalee helped Allen up and rushed over to his side just as he fell limp to the ground. Blood dripped from the corner off his mouth and his vision was starting to blur, his breath was laboured, everytime he inhaled a stabbing pain ran through his chest. Lenalee placed her hand on his forehead again, it seemed even hotter than before.

"Lavi! Lavi stay with us." Lenalee desperatly tried to keep him awake but it did no use. Darkness started to surround him and Lenalee's voice seemed to get further and further away.

"Lavi ... _Lavi hold on…"_

"_Where am I?..." _Lavi thought to himself as he was starting to come around, he opened his eye's but everything was still blurred, he was being carried by someone.

"Allen?" It was no louder than a whisper but loud enough for Allen to hear. "Lavi, glad to know you're still with us." Lenalee was also relieved that he'd finally woken up.

"Allen, we've been moving for 4 hours we need to stop for a bit." Lavi suddenly felt sick, he'd been out for 4 hours? Since the town they were in had been evacuated and more or less destroyed, they tried to find somewhere where a hospital was or atleast somewhere they could recover and report to the Dark Order. They eventually found a safe spot by a river, it was quiet and it gave the them a chance to rest, espically Lavi. Luckily, Allen had remembered that they ran into some Finders a few days ago, he sent Timcanpy to find them and show them where they were so they could get picked up. Lenalee and Allen took turns in taking care of Lavi, one of them would watch him and the other would keep an eye out for the Finders. It was Allens time to watch for the Finders while Lenalee stayed with Lavi, he was getting worse, he was shivering but was hot to the touch.

"Lavi… just hold on okay? We'll get you to a hospital as soon as the Finders come." She spoke softly to him while he slept, the only symptoms he'd shown so far was a high fever, coughing up blood and chest pains, she noted them down, if the hospital staff didn't what was wrong with him, maybe Bookman did. She took his bandanna off and dipped it in the river then placed it on his forhead hoping it would stifle his fever.

It was starting to get dark, still no sign of the Finders, if it had taken _them_ 3 days to get to the city, then they would probably have to wait 3 days for the Finders, could Lavi last that long? Lenalee shook her head, no, Lavi was stronger than that, all of them were and now was not the time to worry, for Lavi's sake, she had to stay confident. Lenalee's thoughts were interupted by Allen walking up to her.

"Still no sign… how's he doing?" Allen asked, concerned.

Lenalee sighed, "No better than when he passed out…His fever hasn't dropped at all…" Tears gathered in her eyes, seeing her friends hurt made her heart break, Allen placed his hand on her shoulder reassuring her.

"He'll be okay Lenalee, you think Lavi will give in to something like this?" That made her smile, he always knew how to cheer her up, both of them did. As the night went on, it got colder, all 3 of them were in sleeping bags, it didn't take them long to fall asleep, the fight before had more or less knocked the energy right out of them.

Lavi however was tossing and turning in his sleep, memories or wars and death flashed before him, the detail of them all seemed un real, he would have these dreams sometimes, cursing his memory when he'd finally wake up from the nightmares. But that was the duty he had as a Bookman apprentice, to record every detail he see's. Blood was spilling everywhere he looked, he begged for it to stop but it never did untill he woke up, but even when he did awake, those horrid memories were still there.

"S-Stop… please…" He whimpered in his sleep, he wanted to wake up, he wanted to see his friends alive and well, like they always were, it gave him comfort. He suddenly heard the screams of the fallen soldiers from past battles and wars, the faces of the fallen suddenly changed into those of his friends, all of them… dead. They'd been through so much, almost loosing their lives on so many occasions, but they all survived, they always have and they always will but those images of his friends dead scared Lavi more than anything the world of war could throw at him.

"No! they're alive!... stop it… please…" Lavi suddenly felt something warm against him, like someone was hugging him. The nightmares began to fade away, all he could see now was darkness.

"_Wake up Lavi." _Lavi's eyes slowly opened to find Lenalee holding him in a warm embrace, that's what he felt, she got rid of those dark memories. She didn't hear him did she? Please say she didn't.

"Lavi, you crying in your sleep…"

She heard. Crap.

Lavi blushed out of embarrisment but since his face was so flushed from the fever she couldn't tell. He looked away from her, but didn't shift from the position they were in, Lenalee had her arms around his shoulders and he was sitting up slightly so his head was resting on her stomach. He would have those nightmares every now and then but never told anyone, (except Bookman) it didn't seem important, but now it looked like he had no choice.

"Just a bad dream…" He finally spoke up, he still couldn't look her in the eye but knew she was concerened.

"Do… do you always have them?"

"No… but when I do I… I…" His voice trailed off, trying to hold his tears back afraid if he said one more word they'd spill over. Lenalee recognised the crack in his voice and hugged him closer hoping it would calm him down.

"It's alright Lavi." She gently ran her fingers through his hair, she remembered her parents would do that to her when she had a nightmare, it seemed to work for Lavi aswell. He was eventually calm enough to fall back to sleep, still in Lenalee's arms. She smiled, he looked like a child in a peaceful sleep. She was about to drift off herself, untill she heard Lavi say in his sleep,

"_Arigatou… Lenalee…"_


	2. Confessions

Dawn suddenly began to shine on the deep blue sky, its bright rays of light shone through the trees, causing patterns on the grass. A single ray of light rested on Allen's face causing him to wake from his sleep. Yawning, he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, looking over at Lenalee and Lavi, he couldn't help but smile at the position they were in. Lenalee was leaning up right against a tree and Lavi was using her legs as a pillow.

But still, Lavi's condition wasn't getting any better, even breathing seemed difficult for him as he slept, Allen desperately wished Bookman was with them, neither himself nor Lenalee knew what was wrong with Lavi, they'd seen people have a fever but it was just something simple like a cold, but this defiantly wasn't as simple as something like that. Allen sighed as the cold water from the river hit his face, Lenalee and Lavi were still asleep so he decided to head back to the road and see if the Finders had come yet.

Lavi finally began to wake from his dreamless sleep, he felt extremely hot for some reason forcing him to more or less kick the sleeping bag off, he sighed in relief as the cold air shifted under his shirt. He looked up at Lenalee, she was still asleep. Then he remembered his little 'incident' last night, looking back at it now, he felt like a complete idiot, he almost cried in front of her and (God forbid) if Bookman knew he'd shown some emotion he wouldn't be a happy panda. He'd probably get a smack for that remark as well. Lavi hated being in this weak state, the thought of having to rely on his friends made him feel pathetic, he needed to take care of himself, no acceptance of any kind. That was the life he'd chosen.

Even though it hurt, he forced himself to sit up and wash his face in the river, his hair was sticking to his forehead due the sudden night sweats he'd been having, but that's when he caught sight of how pale he was and how dull his once emerald green eye was in the waters reflection. He suddenly felt something rising up in his throat,

"_Oh God not aga-" _His thoughts were cut short when he suddenly wretched over the river bank, but blood splatted out of his mouth, slowly turning the clear water red, he tried to catch his breath but the blood was coming up too fast, it was at that unfortunate moment Lenalee woke up, horrified at what she saw; Lavi staring wide eyed at what he'd brought up, she saw the fear in his single eye, no-one should witness or experience something like that, what's worse is when you don't what the cause was or how it can stopped.

"L-Lavi?" She asked him, he turned his head to look at her, then she saw how pale he really was, he looked… afraid.

He fell limp to the ground but Lenalee caught him before he could hit his head on the ground. She gently rested his head on her lap face up so he could breathe easier; he curled up on his side as he started to shiver again. Lenalee quietly covered him with his sleeping bag; he flinched at first but soon calmed down. It took him about 20 minutes to come around and realised what happened, he was on her lap... again.

"I passed out again didn't I?" He asked her, she nodded. He tried to sit up but that stabbing pain in his chest he had before was so bad it caused him to yell, but Lenalee gently pulled him back down, he didn't object, no matter how much he wanted to. The fact that his head was pounding wasn't helping either, he could've sworn he was looking up at 2 Lenalees; he shut his dull eye hoping the dizziness would stop. Lavi unexpectedly felt Lenalee 'stroking' his hair again, he didn't want to admit it out loud but it felt kinda... nice.

"Lavi... being a Bookman apprentice, do you ever regret it? Having to watch all those wars and battles?" Lenalee felt some what embarrassed about asking something like that, but it may give her an understanding of what caused that nightmare he had the night before. At first Lavi didn't answer, trying to think of a way to respond to her question without worrying her.

"Everything I've seen, everywhere I go, it's always war, we have to stand there and watch humanity fight for their selfishness over land or power, but... when you watch war over and over again, you stop caring, realising this is what humans are, just egotistic pawns in the world." It pained him to say it, especially to Lenalee but that's what he'd grown up to learn and watch. He'd lost faith in humans from a young age, no older than about five or six, the humans he thought loved him left him to fend for himself.

There was a brief silence before Lavi spoke up again, "But witnessing such things can have an after effect... when I'm asleep..." Lenalee suddenly understood, all the conflict and death he'd seen in past was replaying in his dreams, she knew of how good his memory was, it seemed like an amazing thing to have, but even the most wonderful things can have a down side, a negative side. But she gave him a comforting smile, "Get some rest Lavi, the Finders will come soon." Lavi nodded slightly before drifting off.

Meanwhile, a group of Finders were following the little golden golem to Allen, Lavi and Lenalee's location; they were going as fast as they could after seeing what had happened. An exorcist also travelled with them going by the name Bookman, he'd also seen Timcanpy's memories and was certain he knew what was wrong with Lavi. He just hoped he'd hold on long enough till they came. Once again, he watched the projection coming from the little golem, watching Lavi's actions, he knew for a fact his eating habits had decreased dramatically and he was taking more naps than normal around a month after they'd left Germany. The fact that he was coughing up blood and collapsing was a bad sign, the virus was spreading and his immune system was weak from the lack of energy he had. This was serious, Lavi could die if he didn't receive treatment, all Bookman could do was have faith that Lavi will stay strong before it's too late. The Finders began to talk among themselves.

"You think the red-headed exorcist will be alive by the time we get there?"

"He'd be one lucky guy if he was; I've never seen something like that before."

"Well if Bookman's here, then it must be serious..."

"Lavi will be alive when we find them; he's only showing early symptoms." Bookman finally spoke up, causing the 3 Finders to hush. He let Timcanpy go back outside and show the way to the Finders.

"_You'd better be breathing by the time we arrive, Junior."_

Everything was quiet, too quiet. Lenalee looked around at their surroundings, it had been over an hour and Allen hadn't returned, normally he'd come back to see if they were alright. Lavi was still asleep on her lap, he hadn't stirred at all, but being how pale he was, you could've mistaken him for dead. His pulse was weak though and his breathing was pained and slow, that thought of him not surviving was slowly creeping back into her mind.

"_No."_ She thought as she shook her head _"He'll be alright, he'll survive... he has to..." _Her eye's brimmed with tears again; he looked so fragile in this state, she leant over so her forehead was against his, it still felt unnaturally warm like it had the past 2 days, beads of sweat had also gathered on his forehead causing his bangs to stick again. Lifting her head up, she checked his pulse again, it was still there but ever so faint but a faint pulse is a lot better than no pulse at all. Lavi's eye began to slowly open; looking up he saw Lenalee on the verge of crying,

"Lenalee? You okay?" His voice was frail. Lenalee quickly wiped her eyes on her sleeve and nodded, seeing him awake and talking gave her more confidence on his survival.

"I'm fine, how're you holding up?" Lavi shrugged "Can't complain, my head and chest just hurt." He still managed a smile but it soon turned to grimace as he curled up into a ball.

"Lavi? Lavi what's wrong?" Lenalee's voice rang with concern.

"I-I'm okay, don't worry." He coughed a few times, blood dripping from his mouth and onto the grass. Lenalee gently rubbed his back. _"Where are they? Please... he need's help... hurry..." _Lenalee once again fought back the tears. She looked in the direction where the road was, still no sign of Allen or the Finders. She looked back at Lavi; he was still curled up on his side.

Lenalee suddenly heard something knocking all the bushes and branches out of its way, it was Allen with his anti-akuma weapon activated.

"Lenalee! Get Lavi outta here, there's a-" He was cut off when something hard knocked him into a tree.

"Allen!" She glared at what had attacked him, it was another Level 2 that looked like a spider, long razor sharp legs and cut throat fangs. It laughed as it watched Allen fly into the tree then looked over at Lenalee and Lavi. It laughed.

"So that's the exorcist who killed my brothers?" It motioned to Lavi, "He can barely stand up!" Within seconds it fired two spinning blades at Lavi and Lenalee but Lavi managed to shove Lenalee out the way and dodge the attack himself, but deeply regretted it when his chest seemed to tighten.

"_Damnit, I can't fight in this state."_ He clutched his chest and leaned against a tree for support, even standing felt like he was being stabbed by daggers. Looking up he saw the Akuma aiming its gun at him, Lavi shut his eye and braced himself for the attack.

"You shouldn't pay attention to one person." The akuma turned and saw Allen charge at it, raging with attack, his sterling claws raised high. It just managed to dodge Allen's attack.

"Get Lavi away from here Lenalee!" Allen cried out to her again trying to land a hit on the arachnid, she quickly dashed over to Lavi, she wanted him to be safe but she couldn't leave Allen to fight alone.

"Go Lenalee!!!" Lenalee's eye's glazed over but it looked like she had no choice, she helped Lavi to stand and got his arm over her shoulder while she wrapped her free arm around his waist.

"Innocence, Activate." Her Dark Boots shone a neon green light and she leapt up with Lavi in her arms. Allen went to attack the spider again but it suddenly seemed to disappear in a flash of movement, where was it?

He scanned his surroundings; it suddenly reappeared and rammed into him, sending him flying across the ground into a mass of rocks along with a sickening snap followed by a cry of agony. His right wrist has snapped. Allen clutched it tightly causing blood to seep through his fingers. The pain had caught him off guard and was hit by another attack; he hit his head this time making him feel dazed, unable to focus. The Akuma took this chance to attack Lenalee who was still in midair with Lavi; it fired a small dart like object into Lenalee's legs. She yelped at the shock and pulled it out; she couldn't feel anything after she'd pulled it out. She could feel _anything_ at all, it had made her legs completely numb and her Dark Boots returned to their normal state causing both her and Lavi to fall into the river below.

The Akuma laughed as it watched Lenalee grab onto a rock sticking out of the water with Lavi. Turning, it grabbed Allen and threw held him in it's claws.

"Give the red-head to me and this one will survive." It made its grip tighter around Allen's chest causing his gasp and cough.

"D-Don't do it..." Allen felt the grip become even tighter, he couldn't breathe. He desperately tried to suppress his yell of pain as the pressure on his broken wrist sent waves of pain travelling up his arm. But when he thought it couldn't get any tighter it did, he couldn't hold it back this time, the pain weaving through his body caused him to scream, blood starting to leak from his wrist at a dangerous rate.

"Hi... ban.." Lavi weakly spoke and his traditional fire serpent rose from the water and knocked the akuma off guard before it attack them again, he couldn't tell if he'd got a direct hit but it was enough for it to drop Allen. With that, he lost consciousness. Lenalee's grip finally slipped and all 3 of them were sent rushing through the water.


	3. Lost and Found

"_Lenalee!.. Lenalee!"_

Lenalee's eyes fluttered open at the sound of her name being called, her mind was blurry, it took a few minuets for her memory of the recent event to return. She looked across the river and saw Allen on the other side crying out to her.

"Are you okay?" She smiled at him and nodded, blood was still dripping from his wrist but he'd managed to stop most of the blood from flowing out. The feeling in her legs had finally returned but she still felt a little wobbly when she tried to stand, only to drop to back to the ground.

"Lenalee is Lavi with you?" Her heart seemed to have stopped when Allen asked her. Lavi was missing. She didn't waste any time, she sprang to her feet and ran into the woods, praying that the akuma from earlier hadn't got him while they were knocked out. Allen leapt across the river to the other and followed Lenalee as close as he could, even without the use of her Dark Boots; she was very quick on her feet but she still had trouble keeping her balance. She tripped over a root sticking up from the ground, but she couldn't find the energy to get up this time.

"_It's all my fault, I should've got him away earlier..."_

"Lenalee.." Lenalee looked over her shoulder and saw Allen kneeling down beside her. "We'll find him, I promise." Lenalee wrapped her arms around him, holding back the tears became more difficult, what if that akuma from earlier had got him? What if he drowned? All those thoughts were rushing through her head and made her feel sick with worry.

"Allen... what if he's?..." Allen didn't let her finish, "He's alive Lenalee." Allen stared hard into her eyes. "Don't you ever think he's..." Even Allen couldn't begin to comprehend if Lavi was dead, he couldn't even finish his sentence. He stood up and helped Lenalee to her feet.

"We _will _find him." Lenalee nodded and looked back at the river.

"If he got carried further down stream... he can't have wandered far from the bank... not in the condition he's in."

"You go see if he's further down, I'll make sure that Akuma isn't around." With that, they both went their separate ways.

"_You'll be okay Lavi, we will find you."_

**..:~~:..**

"_Awh jeez, where am I?" _Lavi slowly lifted his head from the ground; everything was dancing, lots of pretty green and blue colours. Lavi tried to focus on where he was, assuming he was still in forest from what he could see.

"Allen?... Lenalee?" No answer, he was by himself. Cursing, he forced himself to lean upright against a tree, it helped him to breathe easier but it was still difficult and painful. All he could do now was to wait for Allen and Lenalee to come find him but he was having trouble staying awake.

"_Stay awake, damnit." _He kept telling himself but he was soon dipping in and out of consciousness. This wasn't good, the virus was spreading quicker throughout his system, he needed help and he knew it, but, what if they didn't find him in time?

"Shuttup!" Lavi shouted at himself but raising his voice made him cough violently, forcing blood to drip out his mouth. His head was spinning again, _"C'mon, concentrate, stay awake... think of something else..." _Lavi's world spun, it made him feel sick, no wait, he _was_ going to be sick, he quickly cupped his hand over his mouth trying to keep it down, he hated throwing up, not being able to breathe made him panic.

Okay, moment's past, it's gone back down. Lavi let his hand drop to his side and let his head fall back against the tree he was leaning on. He was starting to wonder if he would survive this, even if they did find him in time. He wasn't even sure if he landed a direct hit on the akuma from earlier, that'll probably finish him off if the illness doesn't kill him first. Lavi smiled at himself,

"_Bookman's gonna kill me..." _He finally gave in on keeping his only eye open and slipped into unconsciousness. He began to dream. 

"_Eh, ji ji is this really necessary?" A 14-year-old Lavi whined as he and his mentor trekked through the Brazilian forest. During this time 'Lavi' was formally known as Alex, his 18__th__ alias. He and Bookman were currently on an assignment in Brazil; by now, Alex was used to the heat and the cold but he hadn't been somewhere as hot as this. They had been staying in a village the past few days Alex had been put through many challenges set by Bookman, passing them with flying colours, though he never received any real praise for it. But this assignment in particular, was something he wasn't looking forward to. As of late, he'd developed at a phobia of snakes, venomous ones at that and Brazil was known for the deadly serpents. In order to get rid of this fear, Bookman decided it'd be best that his apprentice faced his fear of being bitten, this exercise would also help him concentrate under pressure. If was he was in any danger of dying, he'd give him the antidote straight away, however, this was a one shot, being exposed to too much venom could damage his immune system._

_Since the villagers wouldn't allow a snake into their village, Bookman took Alex a mile away from the village, he'd also been carrying a wicker basket aswell but didn't tell his apprentice what was inside or why they were even in the middle of now where, but as always, Alex remembered every little detail that he had seen on the way if he were to get lost._

"_This exercise will get you to concentrate under a great amount of pressure." He paused. "It will also cure that phobia of yours." _

_Alex felt his heart skip a beat. Now he understood why they were out here in the first place and he dreaded what was in the basket. But what confused him more is that he hadn't told Bookman that he was afraid of snakes, but he should've known better, Bookman can easily pick up on body language. Especially when it comes to fear. They suddenly stopped and Bookman ordered his apprentice to sit down as he put the basket on the ground. Alex sat crossed legged on the ground, fighting to control his breathing as Bookman gently pulled a snake out if the basket, Alex felt himself begin to shake uncontrollably, his mind went blank, he couldn't even think of what snake it even was._

"_Calm down Alex, it is important that you do this, if this were to happen in an uncontrolled situation you could die without knowing what to do." Alex could hear his heart thumping in his ears. He wasn't paying any attention to Bookman; the only words he heard clearly were '_you could die_.' His single eye stayed put on the snake as it slithered around Bookman's hands._

"_Hold your arm out." He instructed but Alex was frozen to the spot, every fibre in his body, his legs, were screaming for him to run but the fear of being this close to a snake had paralysed him. Instead, he lowered his head, causing his headband to slide down over his eye, if he didn't see then maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He suddenly felt something nudge his upper arm, just below his shoulder, he knew what it was but he was desperately trying to think of something else, anything. He suddenly felt two fangs stab into his arm quicker than a heartbeat, his natural reaction was to yell but he couldn't, the one thing he feared had happened and he didn't how to react._

"_You must make your way back to the village if you want the antidote."_

_Alex's head snapped up but his master was gone, as if he was just hearing his voice in his head. He quickly stood up but stumbled and leant against a tree, his head spinning. He stayed still for a moment to recall his situation, bitten by a snake, possibly going to die unless he gets back and fail to become a Bookman. That thought sparked something; he wasn't going to die out here._

"_I won't give you the satisfaction, Panda." He thought to himself.  
_

Lavi awoke with a start, this was just like before, but he didn't have a safety net this time. He was completely alone this time and there was still no sign of Allen or Lenalee. He thought about signalling them using his fire snake but if that akuma was still around then it would alert it as well. He spent a few minutes contemplating on what to do, and the signal idea was the only thing that would work. It was a fifty-fifty chance but he had to take it, if he had what he thinks he has then he doesn't have to time to wait.

"Hiban."

The snake shot up into the sky, remaining there for about a minute before it faded. Lavi listened carefully for any sign of Lenalee soaring through the sky or Allen running through the forest, instead, he heard something big and heavy heading his way.

"Oh shit."

He forced himself to his feat and made his way further into the forest, trying to find some form of cover. Using his hammer, he extended the handle and hid on a thick branch in a tree, hoping the leaves would help camouflage him. The akuma was more or less below him, thankfully, though it wasn't a direct hit to destroy it, it was injured, most of its legs had been blown clean off and half its face was missing.

"Where are yoouu?~" It cooed. "I know you're here exorcist, you can't hide forever." Lavi watched it carefully, trying not to make any sound. He could hear his heart thudding against his chest, he could destroy it right now but if he missed then it would see him and probably kill him instead. The akuma raised itself up to see if he was hiding in the tree's, Lavi tried to push himself back against the tree to hide himself more but his foot slipped and he couldn't grab onto anything to regain his balance so he tumbled out of the tree and onto the ground, yelping in pain at the hard contact.

"There you are!" It shot out at him but he managed to bat it away with his hammer, he then took that chance to run. "You little runt!" It began to chase him down with the few legs that it had. But not for long, that stabbing pain ripped through Lavi's chest again, forcing him to drop to his hands and knees.

"_Get up you idiot!" _He thought as he tried to force himself up, but it was no use, the akuma caught up to him and pinned him to the ground.

"You'll pay for what you did, shame your little friends aren't here to help you this time." It pushed down on his chest and Lavi cried out in pain, blood flying out of his mouth, his hammer was literally a few inches out of his reach. The akuma laughed and raised one of its sharp legs above his head,

"I'd love to play with you some more but I don't want to risk any interruptions." Lavi's eye widened at the sight of the blade above him, so many thoughts were rushing through his head he didn't know what to do.

"Die exorcist!" The blade shot down towards him. Lavi shut his eye but he quickly opened it again when he felt the weight being flung off his chest, looking over he saw the akuma had been knocked clean off him, it was about to attack him again but a strong force crashed down onto it from above, destroying it. He couldn't move and his vision began to blur, but he managed to make out who'd saved him.

"Lenalee…"

She ran over to him and hugged him against her. "Lavi I'm sorry, I should've got here faster…" He smiled, she felt warm. "S'okay Lenalee…" She held him closer, she couldn't begin to describe how relieved she was that he was alive, but he was barely moving.

"Lenalee!" She looked up and saw Allen running over to them, "The Finders are here, we can get Lavi to a hospital." She nodded and lightly shook Lavi, "Lavi, wake up." No response. "Lavi?... wake up, this isn't funny okay?" Still no response. Allen quickly got him onto his back and ran back with Lenalee to the where the Finders were.

Once the trio came into sight, the Finders rushed over to help them. They got them into the carriage and they rode off as fast as they could to nearest train station that could take them back to the Order. Lavi was lying across the long seats of the carriage, his head resting on Lenalee's lap. Allen meanwhile was sat next to Bookman as he bandaged up his broken wrist.

"Bookman… what's wrong with Lavi?..." Lenalee asked him, her voice frail.

He looked at Lavi lying in her lap, then at her. "I'm afraid Lavi has something called Tuberculosis, he must have caught it back in Germany and it can be fatal if not treated." Allen looked at Bookman, worry and disbelief in his eyes. "Fatal?..."

Bookman took something out of his pocket, "Both of you put these on; the last thing we want is for you two to catch it as well." He handed the two face masks. "Tuberculosis can be caught through the air so these will help prevent that."

As they put the masks on, Lenalee looked down at Lavi in her lap. "Is there a cure for it?..." She dreaded the answer that awaited, "There might be." A glitter of hope shone through her, "But it's highly experimental. There's a chance it might not work at all."

"How do we get rid of the virus?" Allen asked, "The treatment is a course of antibiotics, but as I said, it might not even work and if it does there's no telling of how long it will take to completely remove the virus from his system."

Lenalee didn't answer at first. "We still have to try." He knew she'd say that, he could see it in her eyes. "Just prepare yourself, both of you."

Lavi suddenly began to fidget, gripping his chest as he coughed a few times, _"Stop it… stop it!" _He yelled slightly, Lenalee recognised what was going on and hugged him close to her, "Its okay Lavi." She said in a soothing tone. He calmed down, just by hearing her voice.

Bookmen watched them for a while; he knew Lavi would have nightmares occasionally about the things they'd seen but never had he seen him calm down so quickly. However, he noticed his grip on his chest hadn't loosened, one of the symptoms of TB; chest pain.

"_Let's hope we're not too late."_


End file.
